I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to claim there we never any bad games in "the old days". Whether or not the ratio of good to bad between then and now has changed, for either better or worse, is entirely subjective, but I'm not even talking about that. Corporatisation has driven the industry in directions we scare could have imagined back in the "classic" era. There were dodgy practices even back then, but these days the industry is increasingly all about milking consumers dry of every last cent. I own my own business, so I have a passing familiarity with the concept of profitability. However, making a profit is one thing, ruthlessly exploiting your customers is something different. So yes, I would indeed argue that gaming has degenerated. Whether or not there are good games coming out is entirely beside the point.